FRESNO, Calif. – California voters will head to the polls in November to approve or reject a newly redrawn congressional map that could give more power to Democrats in Congress.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democrats in Sacramento introduced the temporary redistricting plan in order to help their party gain more power in the House of Representatives for at least the next three elections. The special election has been scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 4.
The San Joaquin Valley is among the regions of the state that could see significant redrawing if the effort is approved by voters.
Residents of Kerman, one of the larger towns that dot western Fresno County, are represented by Democrat Adam Gray in House District 13. Democrats have such a slim lead in this swing district that Gray defeated his Republican opponent in 2024 by fewer than 200 votes.
But in the newly proposed congressional map, Kerman and its neighboring communities would be folded into House District 22 – another swing district, but one currently represented by Republican David Valadao.
Based on voter registration records, Valadao’s district is expected to lean Democratic, but the Republican has managed to hold onto his seat for every election – except for one – since 2012.
The proposed congressional map is predicted to not just expand territory for House District 22, but also turn that purple district a bit more blue.
The change is meant to give Democrats an edge as Newsom aims to flip at least five of California’s congressional districts from red to blue.
But Kerman resident Nali Kinyoniz isn’t convinced the seat actually would flip. She’s among those in Kerman who say they want to keep their Democratic representation.
“I don't know how I'd feel…our new representative being Republican,” Kinyoniz said. “I'd rather be a Democrat, but…I feel like these small country farmer towns, they love their Republicans.”
Nicole Cuevas, another Kerman resident, says she supports the possible switch – even if it’s through a redistricting process that has its critics.
In August, Texas lawmakers approved a redistricting plan that’s predicted to increase Republican representation in Congress – an effort that served as the impetus for redistricting in California.
“In this specific situation, I'm all about it because it's about time we start…using fire to fight fire,” Cuevas said.
On the other hand, Gray’s Democratic district could become a darker shade of blue under the proposed redistricting process.
Danielle Wood of Merced opposed the idea to reshape districts from the start.
“California, why are we doing this all of a sudden? ‘Tit for tat, if you can do it, we can do it?’” she said. “Well, voters voted at one time that that was not legal to do and now it's like he [Newsom] wants to change things.”
California operates under an independent redistricting commission that was launched in 2010 to take politics out of district maps. It was intended to be a model for the rest of the nation, but Newsom says straying from it for now is necessary in order to respond to the GOP’s gerrymandering efforts in other states that could tilt the balance of power in Republicans’ favor. In Texas, however, redistricting can happen without voter approval.
Lindsay Crawford of Merced said she has mixed feelings about the entire situation.
“I like the heart behind the idea, and the brazenness of it. But I feel like it's also stooping down to their [Texas lawmakers’] level – like, we can't argue against it and also do it.”
She says she’d rather lawmakers focus on other urgent problems – like funding for university systems like the UCs and CSUs.
Civil rights leader Dolores Huerta, a Kern County resident who pushed for redistricting, said she supports the measure in order to wrest control of Congress back from Republicans. She blames them for cutting Medicaid funding, reducing food stamp benefits known as SNAP, and cutting back funding for schools earlier this summer.
“[Newsom is] trying to save the people in California by making sure that we can have Democrats in control of the Congress to reverse all of these negative actions that our Republican Congress is doing right now,” she told KVPR in August, just after appearing in Sacramento to lobby for the measure.
